Secrets
by Pie and Beer35
Summary: Perfect. When people hear the last name Harrington, that's the first word they think of. All her life, Grace was told to be perfect. She needed to have the perfect body, grades, clothes, attitude. Perfect everything. And she tried. My god, she tried. She didn't want to let anyone down. Grace didn't care what happened to her, as long as she was perfect. (Also on Wattpad)
1. Chapter 1

_"Whoa, what happened?" Aria asked when the lights went out in the barn._

 _"It must be the storm." Spencer answered, lighting some candles._

 _There was a noise in the other room and Grace jumped,_

 _"Something's out there."_

 _The door opened by itself, "Guys."_

 _Aria held the flashlight and the five girls towards the door. Something fell and broke and they gasped._

 _"Gotcha!" Ali yelled and the girls screamed._

 _"That's so not funny, Alison!" Spencer scolded._

 _"I thought it was hilarious, girls." Ali laughed._

 _"Ali, did you download the new Beyonce?" Hanna asked._

 _"Not yet."_

 _"I'm loving her new video." Emily said._

 _"Maybe a little too much, Em." Ali responded._

 _They giggled and Ali handed Aria the cup filled with wine,_

 _"Your turn."_

 _Aria gladly drank it and they laughed,_

 _"Careful, Aria. Take too much, and you'll tell us all your secrets." Spencer said._

 _"Friends share secrets. That's what keeps us close." Ali stated, "Drink up."_

 _Later that night, Grace woke up and looked around, noticing that Ali and Spencer were missing. She woke up the others and she began walking towards the door. There was a figure walking towards the barn,_

 _"Ali?"_

 _"She's gone." Spencer informed her._

 _"What do you mean she's gone?" Grace asked._

 _"I've looked everywhere for her. I think I heard her scream." Spencer said._

* * *

 **One Year Later**

I stood in front of my mirror, smoothing out my maroon dress. It was my first day of junior year, and I wanted to look perfect. So, I wore a maroon dress with a 3/4 sleeve and a pair of black ankle boots. My blonde hair was in a high ponytail and was curled on the ends. And for makeup, I had on dark red lips stick and some eyeliner.

"Grace! Breakfast!" My mom yelled from the kitchen.

I grabbed my bag from my bed and hurried downstairs,

"Um, mom, I promised Spencer I'd meet up at her house and eat there." I told my mom, checking the time on my phone.

"Oh, all right. Well, have a great first day of school. And I'll see you home tonight for dinner?" She asked.

I smiled and grabbed my car keys, "Totally." I kissed her cheek, "Bye mom!"

I arrived at school and grabbed my English stuff from my locker before heading to Mr. Fitz's room and sitting down near the back. I took out my book and started to read. My stomach growled and I put my hand on it, hoping it would quiet down. I looked up when I heard a familiar voice and smiled,

"Aria."

"Oh my god. Grace?" Aria smiled, setting her bag down on the desk in front of me.

"Yeah." I stood up and hugged her, "You look amazing."

"So do you. You've really grown up since the last time I saw you." Aria replied.

"Yeah, well, it has been a year." I replied.

The bell rang and I sat down as Mr. Fitz wrote his name on the chalk board. He turned around and smiled at us, at least, until he saw Aria,

"Holy crap." Everyone in the room stared at her and her phone rang.

She quickly grabbed it, "Sorry."

"Uh, I'm Mr. Fitz, your new English teacher."

* * *

After school I drove home and my mom was there, answering some emails. I went upstairs and did my homework. She called me down a few hours later for dinner. I told her about school, and Aria coming back.

I pushed the food around on my plate, making it seem like I ate some of it. And when my mom wasn't looking, I put some in the napkin that was on my lap.

"So, where's dad?" I asked.

"He had to work late tonight. But, your father promised he would be home early tomorrow so we can eat dinner together, like a family." She answered.

I nodded before putting my napkin on my plate and standing up, "Well, I'm stuffed. Thanks for dinner, mom, it was great."

I threw away my left over food before cleaning my plate and jogging up the stair, "Night!"

Once I got into my room, my phone buzzed, telling me I had a text.

 _Only if mommy knew that her daughter wasn't so perfect -A_

I looked around, really confused. Was someone watching me? Who's A?

* * *

The next day I quickly put on a pair of black jean shorts, converse, a low cut black and white striped t-shirt, and my black leather jacket before heading over to Spencer's house. We grabbed some coffee and headed towards school, the whole time Spencer told me about how Melissa and her boyfriend moved into the barn that was supposed to be hers.

School was school, and when I got home mom was preparing dinner.

"Where's dad? I thought he was going to get off early tonight?" I questioned.

"He'll be here." Mom assured me.

He never came. I sat awkwardly at the dinner table with mom, poking my roast with my fork. Neither of us ate. I sat on the stairs, listening to my mom put the leftovers away in the fridge. I heard her sigh before walking into her office and slamming the door.

Later that night, I went to the kitchen for a glass of water and saw my dad at the counter, eating the roast.

"Mom said you were supposed to get off early." I stated, leaning against the doorway.

"I know. There were some meetings I couldn't miss. I meant to call, but I just-"

"You forgot." I interrupted before grabbing a glass and filling it with water.

"Yes." My dad cleared his throat, "So, how was school?"

"It was fine." I answered.

"I heard Aria moved back to Rosewood." He said.

"She did."

My dad sighed, "Grace, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"Well, it's been a year since Alison went missing and-"

"Dad! I'm fine. Like you said, it's been a year. I've moved on." I said before going towards the stairs,

"They found Alison's body."

I stopped and turned around,

"What?"

"Alison's body. Construction workers who are working in the Dilaurentis' backyard found the body." Dad said.

"Is that why there were so many police sirens?" I asked and he nodded.

* * *

That weekend was Alison's funeral. I wore a black dress that went down to my knees and zipped up in the front with black lace tights and black heels. Spencer and I went to the church together and greeted Alison's parents before sitting in the front row. Soon Hanna and Emily joined, and Aria.

"Poor Ali." Emily said.

"Can you believe what a scene this is?" Hanna asked.

"Alison would have loved it." I said.

"Popular in life and death." Spencer commented.

Hanna grabbed a flask from her purse and handed it to Emily,

"No thanks. I don't-"

"Today, I think you do." Hanna smiled softly.

Aria's phone rang and we all looked at her, "Anyone we know?"

"No, it's just a text from my mom." She answered before looking at us, "Emily and I aren't the only ones who got a message from A, are we?"

People began talking and Spencer turned around, "Oh my god. It's Jenna."

We all turned around and saw Jenna being sat down in one of the rows. We turned back around as Mr. and Mrs. Dilaurentis said next to us,

"Did you see that Jenna Marshall was here?" Ali's mom asked, "I didn't realize she and Ali were friends."

"They weren't." I told her.

* * *

After the funeral, the five of us walked outside together and a man in a suit stopped us

"Do we know you?" Spencer asked.

"I'm Detective Wilden." The man showed us his badge, "I understand you were all good friends of the victim."

"Yeah, we were." Aria replied.

"I'm gonna need to talk to each one of you." Wilden said.

"We talked to the police when Alison went missing." Spencer responded.

"And I intend to go over everyone of your statements. This is no longer a missing persons investigations. It's a murder." Wilden informed us, "Rest assured, I will find out what happened that summer."

Wilden walked away and we all looked at each other,

"Do you think he knows about-"

"No. How could he?" I asked Aria.

Then, all of our phones rang and we opened the text message.

"Oh, my god."

"It's from-"

"I got one, too."

"I'm still here, bitches..." Spencer began.

"And I know everything. A." We all said together.


	2. Chapter 2

We all left for The Grill for dinner and to talk. I sat there with a glass of water with a slice of lemon and stared hungrily at the fries that the girls were eating.

"Why was Jenna there?" Aria asked.

"I guess she's back." Spencer answered,

"That cop acted like we were suspects or something." I said.

"Do you think we looked guilty?"

"Why would we? We haven't done anything wrong." Aria replied.

"Except lie about the Jenna thing." Hanna said.

"We promised we'd never bring up the Jenna thing again, remember?" Spencer whispered. "It never happened."

"Have you found a way to forget? I still wake up sometimes in the middle of the night."

"Aria, it was an accident." Spencer said.

I looked over at Hanna, who pulled her flask from her purse and poured it into her drink. A man at another table stared at her,

"It's medicinal." The man continued to stare, "Cramps."

"I don't get it." Emily said, "How does A know something about me that only Alison knew?"

"Ali knew all of our secrets." I replied, "But... we never knew any of hers."

"I knew some." Spencer stated.

"... Go on." Aria encouraged.

"Talk."

"I can't." Spencer said.

"Spence! No, you are not gonna drop a bomb like that and just clam up!" Aria exclaimed.

"She'd so kill me if I told you." She responded.

"She's dead." Hanna retorted.

Spencer sighed, "Ali was seeing someone that summer."

"I knew she was keeping something from me." Emily stated, "From us."

"Well, why didn't she want us to know?" Aria asked.

"He was an older boy, and he had a girlfriend." Spencer answered.

"Who was it?" Emily asked.

"She never told me his name."

"That's only half the secret." Hanna said.

"It's more than you ever got from her." Spencer replied.

"How was it that Ali told us nothing, and we told her everything?" I asked.

"Because she made us feel like we were part of something special." Emily answered.

"We were." Hanna said.

"I miss that."

"Me, too."

"I miss Ali." Emily said, playing with her bracelet.

"I can't believe you still wear that." Hanna commented.

"Ali still wears hers... wore." Emily responded.

"When Ali didn't come home that night, I knew something terrible must have happened, but there was always some part of me that imagined someday she'd show up." Spencer said.

"Yeah," I replied, "I used to think that maybe she'd just... run off with some guy."

"She was laying on a beach somewhere."

"Or getting a tan out by the pool with that hot lifeguard."

"Oh. Yeah... what was his name?" Aria asked.

"Who cares? 'Save me!'" Hanna gasped and we laughed.

The door opened and I heard light tapping on the wood floor. I looked over and saw Jenna walk over to a seat by the window. We all pulled out money from our wallets and set them down on the table before standing up and leaving The Grill, going our separate ways. I walked with Emily, since we live next door to each other.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow before school?" Emily asked.

I shook my head, "I have ballet practice."

"Oh, that's right. How's that going?"

"It's fine. We have a big recital in a couple of months." I answered.

"Well, good luck." Emily said once we reached my house.

"Thanks. Good luck with your swimming." I replied before going inside.

* * *

The next morning, I got dressed in my yoga pants and tank top before packing my school clothes and ballet uniform and shoes before jogging to the studio. I practiced for two hours before walking to the cafe to buy a coffee and a muffin.

I stopped at my locker and grabbed my stuff for first period when I heard my name over the loud speaker. Along with Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily... We all began to walk towards the office when Aria got a text.

"It's from A." Aria stated.

Hanna glanced at the phone, "'Dead girls walking.'"

We all looked at each other before going to the office where we met up with Officer Wilden.

"So let's see..." Wilden pointed at Spencer, "You thought you heard her scream."

"I said that, yeah." She replied.

"And when you four woke up, in the barn, Alison was gone, and so was Spencer." Wilden continued.

"Yes, I woke up before them, and I realized Ali was missing, so..."

"So you went looking for her." Wilden finished.

"That's what happened."

"I got that." Wilden replied, "So, what's up? Was this a slumber party, or...?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Spencer questioned.

"No, just a routine follow-up." Wilden answered. "Why did you guys all fall asleep."

"Oh, I don't know, because we were tired?" I responded.

"Tired? Really. Is that how you remember it Hanna?"

"Yeah." Hanna answered.

"Yeah, you guys were tired."

"Look, we've told you everything we know, just like we did the night she went missing." Spencer said.

"I know, I know, and you see, the thing is, it's almost exactly what you said last year. Almost like it was rehearsed." Wilden replied.

"Like Spencer said, we've told you everything we know." Aria said.

* * *

 _It was Fourth of July, and we all were in Emily's room, trying on clothes. Ali tried on a shirt and stood in front of the mirror. Then she gasped and turned around,_

 _"I see you!" She said angrily and stormed over to the window, "Oh, my god. I can't believe it!"_

 _"Who was it, Ali? What did you see?" Emily questioned._

 _"He was in that tree, spying on us! I am so creeped out!"_

 _"Who was it?" Spencer asked._

 _"It was that perv, Toby Cavanaugh." Ali answered._

 _"Are you sure?" I asked._

 _"Yes, I'm sure. He was right there! I bet he saw us all naked."_

 _"Should we tell someone?" Aria asked._

 _"I mean, we could." Ali replied, "But I have a better idea."_

 _Ali grabbed a stink bomb from her brother's room and we all snuck outside towards Toby's shed._

 _"Are we sure he's not in there?" Aria asked._

 _"He's not, okay?" Ali responded, "You've got the lighter, right, Spencer?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _I ran forward and grabbed Ali's arm, "Let's wait a second."_

 _"What, Grace?"_

 _"I don't want to do this." I told her._

 _"Fine. Go back to Emily's room. You're on your own." Ali replied._

 _"Maybe Grace is right. We should just call the cops. They'll take him in. They'll take care of it." Aria said._

 _"Where's the fun in that?" Ali asked. "Girls, Toby Cavanaugh is a freak, and we need to teach him a lesson."_

 _"Don't call him that." I said._

 _Ali stepped forward into my face, "Don't call him what? A freak?"_

 _"It's mean."_

 _She laughed, "Why do you care? Don't tell me you have crush on him."_

 _"No!"_

 _"Good, because that will be very disappointing, Gracie." Ali said before taking the lighter from Spencer and lighting the stink bomb and throwing it in the shed._

 _We began to run down the drive way before the shed blew up behind us._

 _"Ali, what did you do?" Spencer asked._

 _"Come on, let's go." Ali replied and we all ran off._

* * *

I skipped lunch that day, which was a good thing because Aria texted me, telling me that Jenna sat with them. From school I went to the gym, and walked home. I saw my sister's car in the driveway and I sighed. Jen and I get along in front of other people, but when we're alone, we can be hostile towards each other. Not all the time, luckily.

"Hey, Grace." Jen greeted when I walked through the door.

"I thought you were at Hollis?" I questioned, setting my bags on the counter.

"I was. But, it is the weekend, Grace. Besides, I wanted to surprise mom and dad." Jen answered.

I nodded, "Well, I have homework to do."

I threw my gym clothes and ballet uniform in the washer before going upstairs and starting my homework. I wanted to get it done so I don't have to worry about it for the weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

I kept spinning and spinning, trying to get this ballet move right. On the eighth spin I lost my balance and fell on my butt.

"Shit." I mumbled, rubbing my ankle.

"You did well. I just think you need to concentrate more." Preston, a guy I dance with often, said, helping me up.

"I keep trying, but I just can't get it right. I need to perfect it." I stated.

"You still have a lot of time, Grace." Preston replied.

I sighed before looking up at the clock on the wall, "Is that the time?! Crap, I'm gonna be late!"

Preston grabbed my arm and I stopped gathering my stuff, "Chill, Grace. I'll drive you to school."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's no problem." Preston answered.

"Oh, my god. Thank you!" I smiled and hugged him.

I quickly got dressed and Preston drove me to school. I gave him one last hug before getting out and running up the stairs and over to my locker. Once I grabbed my English stuff, I closed my locker door and began walking to Mr. Fitz's class. I got a text from Noel, inviting me to his party tomorrow when I ran into someone.

"Crap!" I exclaimed and my books fell to the ground, along with the other person's stuff.

I bent down to grab my things and I noticed the hallway got quiet and I looked around, everyone was watching. I moved my eyes to the person and I ran into and I stopped breathing,

"Toby."

He smiled, "Hi, Grace."

We stood up and I handed him his notebook that I grabbed, "How long-?"

"Today's my first day back." Toby answered.

I looked up and the clock, "Um, I've got to go to class. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, see ya."

We went our separate ways and I got to class on time. In the middle of English, when Mr. Fitz was writing on the board, a crumbled piece of paper landed on my desk.

 _Detective Wilden took Hanna for a chat -Aria_

 **What about?**

I crumbled the paper up again before tossing it to Aria.

 _Don't know. Also, Toby Cavanaugh is back._

 **I know. I talked to him this morning.**

 _What did he say to you?_

 **Not much, really. We just said 'hi' to each other.**

 _Be careful around him._

 **He wouldn't hurt me. We used to talk a little before he was sent away.**

The bell rang and everyone left the class. Emily, Spencer, Aria, and I met outside by Hanna's locker to wait for her. She came over and we asked what happened. Hanna said it was just the same questions, and she just sat in there most of the time while Wilden answered phone calls.

* * *

Apparently when I ran into Toby, I didn't grab my independent reading book for English and he ended up with it. The next day at school, I opened up my locker and saw it there with a small post-it note from Toby saying that I chose a good book.

That night I wore a sleeveless black lace dress that flared out and ended about mid thigh. I put on tall black heels and straightened my hair. I put on pink lipgloss and mascara before leaving with Spencer.

When we got to the party, we met up with Emily and Aria. We noticed how she wasn't around Ben, so we asked her about it and told us about Ben and Toby.

"He tackled Ben? What was Toby even doing in the girls' locker room?" Aria questioned.

"Why are you shocked?" Spencer replied, "Toby's a perv. We caught him peeping through the windows, watching us undress."

"Alison's the one who saw him do that. We never did." I said.

"What's up?" Hanna asked.

"Toby Cavanaugh got into a fight with Ben over Emily." Aria answered.

"It wasn't over me. God." Emily corrected her, "He just... saved me."

"For what, himself?"

"Ew."

"If we hadn't asked you about Ben, would you have told us about this?" Aria asked.

Emily didn't answer and Spencer spoke, "Toby is not a good guy, Emily. He could be seriously dangerous."

"If he's such a bad guy, why'd he take the fall for us?" I questioned.

"Why are you talking to him like he's an old friend of yours?" Spencer retorted.

"You told her?" I said to Aria.

"Look, can we talk about this later? When we're alone?" Hanna asked.

I glared at Spencer before leaving the group to grab a drink. But, unfortunately, she followed.

"You should stay away from Toby." Spencer said.

"Why?"

"He isn't a good person, Grace."

I turned around to face her,

"Toby wasn't the one to set that shed on fire." I stated, "And let me guess, you think he's A."

"He could be." Spencer replied and I scoffed,

"I'm outta here."

* * *

From Noel's cabin I began to walk home. Once I hit concrete, I took off my heels. I saw Toby sitting on his front steps and I walked towards him,

"Hi."

"Hey." He looked down at my outfit, "You look nice."

"Thanks, I was just at a party in the woods." I replied.

"And you walked all that way?" Toby asked.

I shrugged, "Spencer was my ride, and we got into a fight."

"About what?"

I sat down next to him, "Just girl stuff."

"So boys, clothes, makeup...?"

I smacked his arm and he laughed. My phone buzzed and I groaned. I took my phone out and checked my messages.

 _If only Spencer can see you now._

 _-A._

"Who's that?" Toby questioned.

"No one." I answered before standing up, "I better get home."

Toby stood up also, "I'll walk you."

"You don't have to-"

"Grace," Toby put his hands on my shoulders, "I want to."

"Okay."

He smiled, "Come on."

Toby and I walked towards my house and he took off his plaid shirt and put it over my shoulders. When we got to my front door, I thanked him and kissed his cheek before going inside.

* * *

The next morning we all met up in the woods and Spencer told us about Ali threatening Toby.

"That's why he took the fall for us."

"Why are you waiting until now to tell us?" Aria asked.

"I don't know. Ali made me promise, and... I guess I was scared. I thought if we never talked about that night again, it would just go away." Spencer answered.

"Well, it's not going away, not unless we toss our phones and join the Navy." Hanna said.

"Look, there's five of us, and one freak sending messages." Emily began as we walked further into the woods, "If we just talk to each other like this, I feel like it makes it easier to deal with everything."

"I think Emily's right. There's way too many secrets. We shouldn't do this in the middle of nowhere. We should do it where we can see it every day." Aria said.

"You mean, like, somewhere in school?" I asked.

"No. In town. We should ask if we can put a bench somewhere." Aria replied. "Wait, and you know what? Whoever did this to her, if they're still in Rosewood, we should make them look at it everyday, too."

Hanna sighed,

"What, you hate the idea?" Spencer asked her.

"No. No, I just... I had a rough night."

Sticks were cracking and we heard someone running away. I dropped my bag before running after them. I stopped running and looked around as the other girls caught up.

"Look." Hanna gasped.

We all looked down and saw a purple bracelet on the ground,

"Is that yours?"

"It's Alison's." I stated, seeing her name written on it.


	4. Chapter 4

"How bad did your mom bust you over wrecking Shawn's car?" Emily asked Hanna as we walked over to a bench,

"Okay, I didn't wreck it... I just damaged it." Hanna replied, "And actually, everyone is being really mature about it."

"Oh."

"There is no 'oh' about it."

"The town is gonna put in a new bench. There are gonna be flower beds and a pathway of art tiles." Aria said.

"So like messages and pictures and stuff like that." Emily responded.

"Aw, like little headstones." Hanna retorted.

"Hanna!"

"We should each do a tile." I stated.

Hanna reached into her purse, "Look, I've had Alison's bracelet since the day we found it in the woods, and I don't want the responsibility anymore."

No one would take it, so I grabbed it, "I'll take it."

"There's nothing A could say or do to get us into trouble without making trouble for herself." Spencer said.

"Are you sure it's a her?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah, don't you think A is Toby?" I asked her harshly.

"Him, her, doesn't make any difference." Spencer replied, reaching into her bag and grabbing her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Emily questioned.

"I'm gonna block all messages from people I don't know. IMs, emails, texts, everything. Screw A." The laptop beeped and Spencer smiled, "There. Who's next?"

Emily went next, then Aria, me, and Hanna. We talked about Mr. Fitz on the bike, then we somehow got to Ben.

"How's things with Ben?"

"Nothing to talk about." Emily replied.

"So you're really done?" Aria questioned.

"It's okay. I'm fine."

"Okay. If you say so."

Hanna sighed, "I wish we had a drum roll for this. All right, here it goes. We are officially A-proofed."

"Listen. All those little messaged zipping through the air, all around us." Spencer began.

"Yep. And none of them from A." I finished.

"This feels like a good thing." Emily smiled, sitting next to me.

"Of course it's a good thing. Out of sight, out of mind." Hanna replied.

A piece of paper blew to us and Aria picked it up. It was Ali's missing poster, and on it was written 'Ding dong the bitch is dead'. Aria crumpled the paper up and we looked around to see the person who did it. There was no one around.

* * *

I walked into Chemistry and stopped in the doorway when I saw Toby.

"Hi."

"Hi." I replied, "Are you gonna be in this lab?"

Toby showed me his form, "Starting today."

"Sweet." I smiled before sitting in my seat.

"You don't mind, do you?" He asked.

"Of course not, Toby." I answered before the teacher walked in.

Toby went to go talk to the teacher and other students came in. I took out my notebook and Chemistry book when Toby walked over again,

"So, I guess we're lab partners. You okay with that?"

"Yeah."

* * *

The next day I was at my locker when I heard laughing from the jocks. They were looking at Toby at his locker and I watched as he opened the door and shaving cream plopped out. I slammed my locker shut and walked past the guys, shouldering one of them hard.

"Dicks." I mumbled.

* * *

That night, dad wasn't home for dinner again. I ate a few pieces of broccoli before telling my mom I wasn't hungry and I went upstairs to do homework. I wnet downstairs to grab water and I saw a note on the fridge from my mom, saying she was going out for the rest of the night. I knew she was really upset about dad. He's hardly home anymore, always working.

I walked back up to my room and dropped my glass on the carpet. My window was open and the room was cold. Someone wrote on my dresser mirror with lipstick. And not just anyone... A.

'It won't be that easy bitches.'


	5. Chapter 5

I texted everyone, telling to come over to my house ASAP. I paced in front of my front door until they rang the doorbell and I let them in.

"What's going on?" Aria asked.

"Follow me." I ordered and we all went upstairs and I let them into my room and they gasped.

"A was inside your house." Spencer stated.

"Yeah."

"Are you all right?" Emily asked.

"I'm fine. Shaken up, but fine." I answered.

* * *

The girls stayed the night, and in the morning, my mom nor my dad were home. We were sitting around the kitchen and Aria showed us a piece of paper.

"A sent this to my mom."

"It's wasn't your fault." Emily said, "It was your dad's, totally."

"No. It is my fault." Aria replied.

"You did not hook up with her and then asked your kid to cover for you." Spencer retorted.

"Ali said I should've told my mom right after it happened."

"Ali? Alison knew?" I questioned.

"Yeah. She was with me." Aria answered.

"So, Alison saw this Meredith person?" Spencer asked.

"Meredith? Her name is Meredith? Ew. That's not even a cute girl name." Hanna said. "I'm seeing big pores and mousy roots."

"Han, I think it's a little too soon to joke." Spencer whispered.

"I'm sorry, but if you're gonna cheat, you might as well do it with somebody who deep-conditions her hair occasionally." Hanna replied.

"Here, put something in your mouth that isn't your foot." Spencer said, handing Hanna a bagel.

Hanna turned to Aria, "I"m sorry, okay? Look, all I'm saying is that when my dad left, laughing sometimes helped. So did crying."

"My father hasn't left, guys." Aria said, walking over to the rest of us, "I mean, this happened over a year ago. You think he's gonna leave?"

Emily shook her head, "Look, whatever happens, we're here for you."

It was silent for a moment, "Thank you guys, for staying here. I couldn't have been here alone."

"Where's your parents anyway?" Hanna asked.

I shrugged, "My mom left last night when my dad didn't come home."

"Shouldn't you clean off that mirror before they get home?" Aria asked.

"Want me to come with?" Emily offered when I hesitated.

"We should all go." Aria said.

"Uh, yeah, you know what? It doesn't take five of us to clean a mirror, so why don't you four go, and I'll just wait here." Hanna stated.

"Fine. You stay down here. Alone." Spencer replied before going upstairs with us, Hanna following.

Her phone rang, "Well. The creature's back. We should have never blocked our phones."

'Ever wonder what's going on when your back is turned?'

-A.

"Open the attachment."

Hanna opened it and it was a video of me last night, staring at the mirror

"Was that shot from inside your closet?" Aria questioned.

We all rushed over to my room and over to my closet. When I opened it, the girls screamed when my makeup bag fell.

"Guys." Aria grabbed a tube of lipstick and faced us, "Check it out."

She opened it and swatched it on her hand before walking over to my mirror and placed her hand next to the message. It was the same color.

* * *

In chemistry, we had a lab. As I mixed in the sodium borate, Toby spoke.

"Easy. That glass beaker is made of glass."

I smiled, "Maybe you should do it. I've had too much coffee and not enough sleep."

"Big party on a Thursday night?" He asked.

"No. My friends slept over." I answered. "What did you do last night?"

"Sat at the Grill doing homework."

"That's where you study?" I questioned.

"Got to." Toby replied, "Jena listens to her lectures loudly, and it messes me up. She doesn't like using headphones at home."

"Why the Grill? It's not exactly quiet there either." I commented.

"It is if you stay late enough. I close the place, like, every night." Toby said.

The lab went on after the bell rang and Toby was playing with the goop we made.

"I didn't think this would take so long." I said.

"I don't mind." Toby replied, "I like being in school when nobody else is."

I looked down at my paper, "Viscosity, elasticity, and tensile strength. Anything else we need to cover?"

"Maybe our noses. This stuff's rank."

He put it near my face and I smelled it.

"Oh, god." I gagged and threw his arm away from me, spilling water on his notebook, "Crap. I'm so sorry."

I grabbed paper towels and his notebook, wiping away the liquid.

"It's fine. It's just water."

I turned the notebook around to wipe it away more when I saw a bunch of drawings,

"Did you draw this? It looks just like the cover of this band, Circus Survive. This is so good." I said.

"You know that band?" Toby questioned.

"My sister's boyfriend works at a bar on South Street. He snuck me into a show." I replied.

"Have you heard of any of their new stuff yet?" Toby asked, "It's totally-"

"Amazing!" I interrupted.

"If you're into them, there's this... other band I should turn you onto. I'll burn you a CD." He said.

I smiled at him, "Thanks. I should go, don't want to be late for ballet."

I grabbed my bag and my books, "Um, Grace?"

"Yeah?"

"My notebook."

"Oh. Jeez. I really need more sleep." I joked, handing him his notebook.

"Or more coffee. Want to meet up at the Grill later?" Toby asked.

"Sure." I answered before leaving.

* * *

After ballet practice, I rushed home and showered before changing into a long tan sweater, a pair of skinny jeans, and knee-high brown boots before walking to the Grill. I smiled when I saw Toby through the window. But when I walked in my smile fell.

Hanna, Emily, and Spencer were sitting at a table. I looked between Toby and my friends, and Spencer waved me over. I gave Toby an apologetic look before sitting with the girls.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer asked.

"I, uh-"

"Hey, Hanna had a run-in with Jenna Marshall today." Spencer said.

"You know that dentist office I'm working at?" Hanna started, "Well, I was going in for my shift after school and I was in the elevator. Jenna Marshall was in there. She had the same lipstick Ali wore."

"The exact same color." Emily said.

I looked behind me and watched Toby leave, not paying attention to what the others were saying. We were there for about a half hour when Spencer stood up and grabbed her bag,

"Where are you going?"

"I have an early tennis day with my dad, and I have no idea what I'm going to wear. There, um, may be this boy-" Spencer began.

"Boy! What boy? Details!"

"Well, there's none yet, but I'll keep you guys posted." Spencer said before she began walking way.

The waitress walked up to her, "Are you Grace?"

"Um no, this is Grace." Spencer replied, touching my shoulder.

The waitress put a CD case in front of me, "Someone left this for you."

"Thank you." I replied before she walked away.

I looked down and smiled at the drawing on me on the cover.

"Pretty. Who made that?" Hanna asked.

"Somebody from school." I answered before standing up, "I'll see you guys later?"

Emily and Hanna nodded before I left. I got home and immediately put the CD in my CD player and listened to it as I shopped online for my homecoming dress. I really liked it. I really liked him.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day I was out on a run when I saw Toby sitting in The Grill.

"Hey." I greeted him as I sat down, "I was hoping you'd be here."

"Why?" Toby asked.

"I really like tracks three, seven, and nine. Nine was the best." I told him, "And I'm sorry about last night. Really sorry."

I stood up and kissed his cheek, "I'll see you at school."

After I got home, I quickly showered and grabbed the CD off my desk and left the house. I walked down the street to Toby's house and climbed up to his window. I quietly entered his room and set the CD on his desk. I grabbed a note pad that was sitting there and a pen, writing that there were a few girly songs, so he had to keep an open mind.

* * *

Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and I went over to Aria's house after getting chinese food.. She was laying in bed with headphones in.

"What are you doing?" Aria asked when Spencer took her headphones out.

"An intervention."

"We brought takeout and rag mags." I smiled.

"But, you cannot have any of those until you get out of these sweats." Hanna said.

"What's wrong with these?" Aria questioned.

"Nothing... except they're starting to graft to your skin." Spencer answered.

"Well, they're comfy." Aria defended.

"So are mom jeans and platform flip flops." Hanna retorted.

"Plus, how are we gonna help you choose a homecoming dress if you don't try some on for us?" Emily asked.

"That's easy. I'm not going." Aria said.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Hanna questioned,

"Yeah, you can't just not go." I said.

"What are you doing instead?" Emily asked.

"I don't know," Aria looked at the magazines, "I guess I'll just read these and inhale a gallon of chunky monkey."

"Hey, cutting yourself off from the rest of your life is not gonna help your parents. And besides, they still might work it out."

"They're barely speaking to each other." Aria replied.

"People get angry. They blow up. But that doesn't mean it's over."

"Emily, they didn't blow up over her dad missing their anniversary, he slept with one of his students." Hanna responded before turning back to Aria, "Sorry."

"I'm just saying, things could blow over by Friday and by Monday all is forgiven. Some things just take time." Emily said.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Okay, so you're coming?!" Spencer exclaimed,

"I'll think about it." Aria replied.

"Well, if you're not coming, can you at least cast an abscentie ballot?" Hanna asked and we scoffed, "What?! I need her vote."

"Hanna, stop already. You've got homecoming queen locked down." I said as I sat on a stool.

"Really? Spencer can rig the election?"

"Sorry, I have enough to do already, thanks." Spencer replied. "I'm head of committee, half is out sick with the flu, so I'll be restocking the ice and refilling the hummus bowl, and trying to look cute for my first official date."

"With Alex?" Emily asked.

"Wait, you're bringing him to Homecoming?" Aria questioned. "So this is real."

Spencer shrugged and I laughed, "Look at her blush!"

After talking about guys, Hanna announced she was hungry and grabbed a fortune cookie. Was she looked at her fortune, she gasped.

"Lions and tigers and bitches, oh my. There's no place like Homecoming. See you there. -A."

We each grabbed a cookie and read the fortune. They were all the same.

* * *

The next day at school I was at my locker when Toby walked up to me,

"Hi."

"Hey." I smiled,

"I was about to look for you." He said.

"You were? How come?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something." Toby answered and I stopped walking so he could talk, "Um, do you want to hang out tomorrow?"

"I would, but I'm going with my friends to Homecoming." I replied.

"That's too bad." Toby pulled out two tickets, "I was hoping you would go with me."

"To Homecoming?" I questioned and he nodded, "I didn't think that was your scene."

"I have a scene? I didn't think listening to The Smiths alone in my room was a scene." Toby joked.

"You know what I mean." I replied

"I think what you mean is you don't want to go with me." Toby said.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I thought you would think that Homecoming was lame."

"It is pretty lame. But... you'e not." Toby stated.

I smiled, "Okay. I'll go with you to Homecoming."

"So I'll pick you up at nine."

"Sure. But it starts at eight." I replied.

Toby laughed, "Lame."


	7. Chapter 7

I stood in front of the mirror in my room, wearing a black dress that was bejeweled on the top and flared out at the bottom. On my feet, I wore black heels. For makeup, I did a smokey eye shadow and light pink lip gloss.

"You look beautiful." Mom said from the doorway.

"Thanks, mom." I smiled and the doorbell rang, "There's my ride."

"Should I get a picture of you girls?" Mom asked, coming down the stairs with me.

My eyes widened, "Oh, no, that's okay, mom. Look, I'm already late." I kissed my mom on the cheek, "Bye!"

After slamming the door shut I grabbed Toby's hand and led him to the car that was parked on the street.

"What was that about?" Toby asked as he turned the car on.

"Doesn't matter." I smiled, putting on my seat belt.

When we arrived at the school I began walking towards the front doors, but Toby stayed behind me.

"You know, they're showing a Fritz Lang double feature at Rosewood cinema tonight. If we leave now, we'll only miss the credits." He said.

I let out a small laugh and looked down at my dress, "I might be a little overdressed."

"This may sound stupid, but I've never been to one of these things before." Toby said.

"What are you so nervous about?" I smiled, walking up to him. "Meeting up with my friends?"

"Who think I'm a freak."

I shook my head, "Not all of them. They'll get over it. Because they want me to be happy. It's just a party. If we get hungry, we'll eat some chips, have some punch..."

"Punch, really?" He smiled. "Are we gonna jitterbug, too?"

"You don't have to dance."

"Good. Cause I don't." Toby said.

"I'm okay with that." I laughed before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the door.

We stood in the entrance of the dance, holding hands, and I saw the girls staring at us. I squeezed his hand lightly before walked over to them.

"Hi, guys." I smiled and they all stared awkwardly at Toby.

"Um, I'll go get us some drinks." Toby told me before walking away.

"You're here with Toby?" Spencer hisses at me

"Either you've got some genius plan of sleeping with the enemy, or you've lost your mind!" Aria whispered.

"You don't even know him." I barked back.

"What is there to know? Who else could've helped Jenna? He has every reason to hate us." Spencer responded.

"But he doesn't."

"Grace, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a frickin' duck." Hanna replied.

"I thought you'd understand, guys. Looks like I was wrong." I pushed past them and went up to Toby.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Perfect." I smiled, taking the cups away from him and kissing him on the lips.

When I pulled away I looked over at the girls and saw them watching us.

"Wanna go play some games?" He asked, breathless.

"Sure."

After playing multiple carnival games and Toby winning me a few stuffed animals, he invited me to the chem lab upstairs where it was quieter. We sat there for a few minutes, talking about random things until I blurted out a question that has been bothering me for a while.

"Why do you like me?"

"What?"

"Why do you like me, Toby? You know what me and my friends have done, and yet, you're still nice to me." I said.

"I guess it's because I've also done things that I'm not proud of." Toby closed the door, "We've all got secrets, Grace."

My phone began to rang and I dug around in my purse to find it.

"Can you please not answer that?" Toby begged.

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to find a way to tell you about what happened last summer." He answered. "I want you to hear it from me."

"Okay." I sighed, putting the phone down. "I'm listening."


	8. Chapter 8

"That's why I took the blame for you guys. Ali blackmailed me." Toby finished and I sat down.

"And that's enough to want her dead." I stated, staring at the text that Aria sent me.

"Just because I didn't like her doesn't mean I wanted her dead." He replied. "Please believe me when I say that I didn't kill her."

"I believe you, Toby. I didn't doubt you for a moment." I sighed when my phone began ringing again. "We should probably head back down to the party."

Toby gave me a small smile and held out his hand for me to take. When I stood up, I became light headed. My knees buckled and I fell, hitting my head on the counter, causing me to black out.

"Grace!"

...

"Toby" I groaned as I was jostled up and down.

I barely opened my eyes enough to see that we were in the car. We hit another bump and I groaned. I weakly lifted my hand up to feel blood on my forehead.

"It's going to be okay, Gracie." Toby said, grabbing my hand.

I heard ambulance sirens and I was able to see that we were in front of a hospital.

"No, no, no." I mumbled, shaking my head, making it ache more. "No hospitals."

"Gracie, you're bleeding badly and you hit your head pretty hard." Toby replied.

"Please." I begged, "Please."

"I'm sorry, Grace."

He put the car in park and got out, coming around and lifting me out of my seat. I began to hyperventilate, causing me to black out again.

...

When I came to, I was no longer in pain. There was a beeping to my right and I felt a railing on the bed. I was in a hospital.

I opened my eyes and the brightness hurt. I slammed my eyelids close and groaned.

"Grace?" I heard my mother call my name and squeeze my hand.

"Mommy." I croaked out, "The lights."

"Hold on, sweetie." Mom's hand disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds, "Okay, I turned the lights off for you. Now open your eyes."

I slowly opened my eyes this time, blinking multiple times before focusing on my mom. She had mascara streaking down her face from crying.

"Oh, thank god you're okay." She said, smiling. "Toby really did a number on you."

My eyes widened, "What?"

"Toby Cavanaugh. He pushed you and you hit your head. Do you not remember?" Mom asked.

"I remember." I replied, "And Toby didn't push me. I fell."

"Grace, if you're trying to cover up for this delinquent-"

"He's not a delinquent!" I exclaimed, "And he didn't push me."

"Then how did you fall, Grace? You never fall."

"I wasn't feeling good." I responded, "I was lightheaded."

The door opened, "Which is a symptom of anorexia."

"Excuse me, Dr. Hayward?"

"Your daughter is anorexic, Mrs. Morrison." The doctor stated.

"No, I'm not." I responded.

"You are extremely underweight for a girl of your age and height." Hayward responded.

"That doesn't mean she's anorexic. She eats all the time, right Grace?" Mom looked towards me.

"Right. It's just that I have a fast metabolism and I work out all the time." I replied.

"Now if you excuse me, I want to bring my daughter home." Mom snapped at the doctor.

...

I laid in my bed, my friends all around me. They brought me magazines and cookies to keep me occupied while I was bed ridden.

"I told you so. He's bad news, Grace." Spencer stated, crossing her arms.

"He was being forced into it!" I exclaimed.

"He probably lied."

"Toby wouldn't lie. Not to me." I stated.

"So he wouldn't lie but he'd hurt you?" Spencer interrogated.

I stared at her in confusion, "Hurt me? Toby never hurt me."

"Then how'd you end up in the hospital?" Hanna asked.

"I fell." I answered.

"Grace, you aren't clumsy. How the hell did you fall?" Aria questioned.

"I got light headed." I answered honestly. "Toby never hurt me."

Spencer scoffed, "Whatever. I'm out."

"Wait, what am I supposed to do about Toby's file?" Hanna asked.

"Just shove it in your locker and we'll deal with it tomorrow." Aria answered before they all left.

...

I was sleeping for an hour or so before I heard barking. I opened my eyes slightly and saw a German Shepard by my bed. I followed the leash attached to him and saw Jenna in the doorway.

"So, you're awake." I looked at the foot of my bed and saw my mother.

"Am I?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I told Jenna that you already had a lot of visitors today, but she insisted. She and her mother baked you some cookies." Mom said.

"They taste even better with milk. You have milk, don't you?" Jenna asked my mother.

" Yeah. Yes. Of course we have milk." Mom set the cookies down and walked out of the room.

Jenna walked over and sat on the bed, petting her dog, "How are you feeling?"

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm worried about Toby, and I think you're the only person who knows where he is. Sit, Shadow." Her dogs sits down.

"Um, how would I know?"

"Because you're one of the few people that he trusted. Look, Grace, Toby is troubled." Jenna sighed, "I'm really... afraid of what he might do."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Now the police are looking for that file, and people think that he..." She sighed again, "If it falls into the wrong hands-"

"I don't have it." I stated.

"Of course not. But you know who does."

"Why would I even give it to you?" I questioned.

"Because you owe me that much."

...

I grabbed my phone and called Hanna, getting her voice mail.

"Ugh, listen Hanna, I need you to come over ASAP. Jenna came-"

Mom walked in and I changed the subject,

"When you get this, can you call me back? Thanks."

"Who were you talking to? Toby?" Mom questioned, setting up a chair with many magazines and mugs of milk,

"Um no, Hanna borrowed my lip gloss last night. If I don't hound her, I'll never get it back." I replied in confusion.

Mom sat down on the chair and opened a magazin, "Mom, you don't have to baby-sit me."

"You know what? You're not gonna be needing that today." She said, looking at my phone, "Just you and me."

"Did you think I wouldn't let you go to homecoming if I knew you were going with Toby Cavanaugh?"

"What?" I questioned, looking back at her.

"You heard me." She responded,

"Yes." I answered.

"You know what? You're right. I wouldn't have. That guy is trouble. People cross the street to the other side when they see him coming." Mom snapped.

"He's just misunderstood, mom. Different." I replied.

"Different. You know what? I think his stepsister probably thought he was different, too, and now she needs a seeing-eye dog."

"He didn't do that. It was an accident." I exclaimed.

"How do you know that, Grace? And what about last night? Was that an accident as well?" I gave my mom a look, "Come on, how many guys drop their dates off at the hospital and then run away? What's he trying to hide?"

" Mom..."

"Honey, did he try to pressure you into something you weren't ready for?" She asked.

"That's not what happened." I answered.

"Well, then, what happened? What happened, Grace? Why don't you start by telling me that. Toby Cavanaugh didn't get sent away for a year because he rolled through a stop sign. Do you have any ideas what our neighbors think of him, what they're gonna think of you?!"

"I need some sleep."

" Honey, what you need is to start being honest with me... and with yourself." Mom yelled before leaving the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Monday came and I had to go to school. I put on a cute floral sweater with jeans and converse and put on some basic makeup. I went downstairs and took some pain pills with some toast before my mother drove me. I stood at my locker, grabbing my books as I heard someone touching multiple lockers,

"Grace. I know you're there." Jenna said from next to me.

"I'm kind of in a rush." I stated, closing my locker.

"Do you have it?" She asked.

"I... I don't, and no one else does, either. Listen, you don't have to worry about it anymore, okay? It's gone... for good. I answered.

"What? What are you talking about?" Jenna questioned.

"Just what I said. It's gone." I repeated.

"I hope you're not lying to me." She sneered before I quickly walked away.

I made it through the day. Barely. Everyone kept asking how I was, and I was getting sick of it. Once school was done, I was out of there. I walked home, and when I got to Toby's house, I froze.

On the back of a truck was Toby's motorcycle. And it was extremely beat up. There were dents in it and the front tire was at a weird angle. I saw Jenna sitting on the front steps sobbing.

What happened to Toby?

...

"So, is Toby dead?" Hanna asked, rubbing my back.

"I couldn't bring myself to ask. Jenna was so upset. But his bike... it looked like it was... like it was wrecked." I stated, looking down at my lap.

"Well, I'm not gonna cry over this, and neither should you." Spencer said and I glared at her.

"Spencer, if she liked him she can cry about it." Hanna defended.

"Well, I'm sorry for speaking." Spencer said before going quiet, "Look, she's right. I... I can't tell you what to feel."

"I'm sorry for what I said about your family yesterday. I didn't mean it." Hanna said to Spencer.

Wait, what?

"It's true. You're not the first person to think it." Spencer replied.

My phone beeped and I grabbed it from my lap,

"It's probably Aria. Something weird's going down at her house." Hanna said.

I stared at the text and tears formed in my eyes.

"What is it?"

Spencer grabbed the phone from my hand, "Thanks for getting Toby out of my way. 'A.'"

I buried my face in my hands and Spencer touched my arm in comfort.

...

"I was afraid she wouldn't get it done in time for the memorial. This was someone from your mom's gallery?" Hanna asked as Spencer and Aria pushed a giant box into the living room of Spencer's house.

"Right." Aria answered.

"Where is your mom?" Emily asked.

"There's an apartment above the gallery. So she's staying there. For now."

"Kind of weird, isn't it? Your mom moving out." Hanna stated.

"Yeah, like my dad should have left. That's what you'd expect."

"Aria." Spencer scolded.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. The whole thing just sucks." Aria apologized.

"I know."

"Did anyone call Shelly Leonard?" I questioned, unscrewing a nail from the box.

"Done. I told her that if she plays anything depressing, I will kick in her cello." Spencer answered.

"Oh, what about the program?" Aria asked her.

"Almost done. But we should finish it before Ali's brother gets here."

"When is that?"

"Tonight. He wants to see us in the morning." Spencer said.

"God, you know what? I barely remember Jason." Hanna said, getting up to help.

"We didn't know him. He was just Ali's older brother down the hall." I stated

"Behind the closed door."

"With his hardcore-punk music vibrating the floor boards." Emily continued and we all laughed,

"How did he get into an Ivy League school?" Aria questioned.

"I don't know. It must've been affirmative action for goths and emos." Spencer replied before we lifted the lid and peered inside.

The head was amazing. On it were six women made out of copper.

"Wow"

"It's beautiful."

" Pedestal's already out there, next to the bench. This goes up Friday morning." Spencer stated.

"Do you think Jason will like it?" I asked.

"Of course he'll like it." Hanna replied.

"You know, years from now, people are gonna see this memorial and that's all they'll ever know about Ali. She'll be the girl that they dedicated the bench to. And we'll all be gone, but Ali will still be remembered." Aria said.

"'That's immortality, my darlings'." I quoted, remembering the day Ali said that.

"Where did she get that from, a movie?" Aria asked.

"Ali was a movie." I replied.

...

The next morning Emily picked me up in her new car and we drove over to Spencer's to meet with Jason. He was different then what I remembered. His hair was shorter and he was in a suit. He was a lot more handsome than before.

"You've done a great job. Really. Mom and Dad and I are really grateful." Jason stated before the door opened behind him and Hanna came in, "There she is."

"Jason. Uh... Hey. Sorry I'm late." Hanna apologized, hugging him.

"No problem. I was saying you've done some lovely work on the memorial. I might've done one or two things differently. We can adjust that along the way. Here's a copy of the program for the dedication." Jason handed Emily a piece of paper and Spencer spoke up,

"Oh, I emailed you the program that we worked up."

"Right. I saw the draft. This just fine-tunes it. Let's see. If Shelly Leonard's gonna play something I don't think we can give her more than three minutes." He smiled, "I remember she's somewhat of a showboat with that cello. Then, uh... Oh." He held up a photo of Ali, "Is this the picture for the program?"

"Yes. It's everybody's favorite." I said.

Jason nodded and looked at me, "It's the one I would have picked. I thought I was gonna be able to get my whole family out here...but, you know, at the last minute, my mom, um..." He chuckled, "It's crazy talking about this, isn't it? When I think about her, I think about you. The five of you in her bedroom, laughing, keeping secrets. Long time ago." Jason grabbed his coffee, "I want each of you to speak. I'd rather hear from you than Miss Slocomb from the PTA."

"The PTA was a lot of help." Spencer said.

"What about the rain?"

"The rain?" Spencer questioned.

"Forty percent chance before the weekend." Jason elaborated.

"They said that we can use the school's multipurpose room if we have to move the ceremony inside."

"Great. People think this dedication is about closure." Jason put his hand on the tile that the five of us made, "There won't be closure until they find out who did this to Alison. The cops in this town have been jerking my family around for more than a year. No more of that. I'm here to get some action, and this memorial is gonna help me get it." He grabbed a pen and grabbed the program, "Oh, and I'm adding one speaker to the program."

"Jenna Marshall?" I questioned, reading his handwriting,

'You want Jenna to speak... at the dedication?" Hanna asked.

"That's right."

"Why?"

"She asked me if she could." Jason answered.

"Jenna asked to speak?"

"Is there a problem?" Jason asked us.

"It just didn't occur to us that Alison and Jenna were that close." Spencer said.

"I didn't know either. Jenna called and said my sister was a lot of help to her after her accident. Well, concentrate on what you're gonna say. Leave the rest of it to me. Now I'm going to have a talk with Detective Wilden and find out why they haven't located Toby yet." Jason said, packing up his things and leaving.

"Did we just get fired?" Emily asked.

"Shh! Keep it down." Spencer hissed.

"Why is he talking to Jenna?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"What does she have to say?"

"This is turning into a nightmare." I stated.

"What else did he say?" Hanna asked.

"Nothing. Just kept smiling like he was running for office." Spencer answered.

"Spence, why does Jenna wanna speak at the dedication?" Aria asked.

"And why does Jason want her there? He clearly knows they weren't friends." Hanna said.

"We can't let Jenna speak."

" How are we gonna stop her without looking like bitches?" I asked.

"How're we gonna stop her at all? In case you didn't notice we just got patted on the head and sent off to play." Spencer stated.

"You need to stay on top of him, find out what's going on." Hanna told Spencer.

"Why me?" Spencer questioned.

"Because you're the big organizer. You've got the laptop of all knowledge, and he's gonna need some of that." Aria answered.

"Jenna could get up there, she could tell about the fire and Toby. She could tell about everything." Emily said.

...

Later that week, Spencer, Jason, and I met with Principle Hartman to talk about the memorial.

"Well, that was painless." Jason said.

"Not for Principal Hartman." Spencer muttered.

"He means well, but he needs to know who's in charge." Jason replied.

"I think we all know that."

"Okay, is... is there a problem?" Jason questioned us.

"There's no problem. You're Alison's brother. You should have the final say. But you're not the only one dealing with this." I told him.

"See, there's that closed door again. The secrets of the girls cuddled up in Alison's bedroom. Do you think that means you knew her better than I did?" Jason replied.

"No. It just means we knew her in a different way." I stated.

Then we saw Detective Wilden and the custodian along with another officer walk up to Toby's locker,

"What are they doing?"

"That's Toby's locker." I stated.

"Detective Wilden." Jason greeted as the three of us walked up to him,

"You'll find this interesting. We're having a look in Toby Cavanaugh's locker." Wilden said.

"Why? Do you think he's hiding in there?" Jason asked.

"He's a suspect." Wilden stated.

"Your investigation better turn up more than Toby Cavanaugh's old gym socks."

"You made it clear you weren't happy with the pace of the investigation. You said you wanted action. I'm trying to give that to you." Wilden replied.

"Yeah, you've got nothing. I realized that yesterday." Jason responded.

"Sometimes, Jason, we withhold information on the progress of an investigation to avoid any interruptions."

"The only reason you're tearing this kid's locker apart is because he's not around to object." Jason said.

"Toby called your sister's cell phone the night she disappeared. I checked the phone records. She took the call." Wilden stated.

"Toby called Alison the night she died?" I questioned.

"He did. Or somebody else did using his phone." Wilden answered.

...

Later that day, Spencer called all of us over to her place. Apparently Alison told Jenna that Spencer was the one to throw the bomb into the garage the night she got blinded.

"And so she tried to pin it on you?" Hanna asked Spencer

"That's what she told Jason."

"But why you?" I questioned.

"Because Spencer could stand up to her, and Alison didn't like that." Aria said.

"God, this is officially insane." Hanna stated.

"Is that what she told Jenna when she was at the hospital?"

"I don't know. I mean, I don't think so, but I don't know." Spencer answered.

"Okay, so one minute, she's trying to cover it up and the next, she's ratting us out to her brother?" Aria questioned.

"Like she wanted Jason to know the fake story in case anything happened to her." I said.

"Why?" Hanna asked.

"So they'd know who to blame." Spencer answered.

"God. This is still Alison's movie, and we're just filling up the screen." Aria said.

...

It was the day of the memorial and I didn't know what to wear. In the end, I chose a black long sleeve dress that had a grey skirt. I work black heels and a black jacket. I put waves in my hair and put on a thick eyeliner and a light shade of lipstick. Emily picked me up and we went to the school. The memorial was held in multipurpose room as it decided to rain today. There was a giant photo of Alison and Spencer went up to the podium. Before she spoke, she looked at someone in the back of the room and looked at us. I looked back to see Ian.

"Ian?" I questioned.

"Wait, Melissa's Ian?" Hanna replied.

"Um... I can't remember not knowing Alison. Not having her as a friend. She was the first person I knew long enough that I felt I could be angry with...without worrying that I was gonna lose her. It made me feel like something was gonna last. And you need that. Yeah, especially when you're a kid." Spencer began and Hanna went up, "Friends can be hard on you. Maybe they expect more from you than strangers. Strangers pretty much see you the way you want them to see you... but you can't fool friends. That's what makes them friends."

"That corner of the park is gonna be a safe place where you can go and sit read a book and just think. You should think about Alison while you're there. She'd wanna make sure you didn't forget about her." Emily continued.

"When you do something like this, well, a memorial it's partly because you don't understand what's happened. So you plant flowers and you paint tiles and somewhere in the middle of all that work, you stop crying. I guess that's the point." Aria said.

"She would've liked that you were all here. She would've liked the attention. No, actually, she would've loved the attention." I smiled, "It would've made her laugh. And Alison laughing... that was amazing." I said before sitting down and Jenna went to the podium,

"We think we know who we are, but we don't. Not until something bad happens to us. And then all the useless things fall away, and we're left with who we really are. I learned that from Alison DiLaurentis. My whole life, I thought I knew who she was. But I found out the truth when she came and talked to me at the hospital. I found out that she was the strongest person that I had ever met. And it's her strength that touched so many people, shaped them. That's her real legacy. That's how her memory will endure. In the actions of those she inspired in so many different ways. From all of us... ...thank you, Alison."

After the memorial, the five of us plus Jason went back to Spencer's house.

"I need sugar." Hanna stated.

"Me too."

"I'm buying."

"That was my folks." Jason said, hanging up his phone, "They say thanks. So do I."

"You're welcome." I gave him a small smiled and touched his arm.

"And I want you girls to have something. The police returned this to my family. I think you should have it." Jason said, laying a purple bracelet with Alison's name on it.

Exactly like the one we found in the woods.

"The police gave that to you?" Aria asked, examining the bracelet.

"Alison was wearing it."

"Wait. You mean when they found her?" I questioned.

"After listening today, I just thought you should have it." Jason turned to me, "I'll be in touch."

"If that's Alison's bracelet, what about the one we found in the woods?"

"I don't know." Aria answered.

"Someone made a copy of Alison's bracelet." Hanna stated.

"Yeah, and made sure that we would find it."


	10. Chapter 10

"It's insane. How many words do they expect you to learn in one night?" Hanna asked as I read a flash card for Spencer,

"Stringent."

"Uh, tough. Inflexible." Spencer answered and I high-fived her,

"It's not like you're actually gonna use them." Hanna stated,

"Meretricious." Aria read off,

"It's not like you go to college and then... ...you start speaking a different language."

"It's about getting into college. Meretricious. Um... Phony, flashy." Spencer replied,

"Mm-hm. Uh, Han, why are you still eating that?" Aria asked, looking over at Hanna who was eating the garlic bread,

"Because it's here." Hanna answered,

"Put it in the garbage." Spencer said,

"Then I'd have to stand over the garbage and eat it. "

"Besotted." I cleared my throat, looking away from the good smelling food

"Infatuated, enamored, in love with." Spencer answered,

"Mm-hm." I hummed,

"What did Noel say to you after the memorial?" Hanna asked Aria,

"We are taking the SATs in less than 12 hours. Can we focus?" Spencer questioned,

"Okay, Spencer... ...you do not need to know any more big words. You're already scary enough."

"I'm not scary. Am I scary?" Spencer whined,

"A little." Aria and I answered at the same time,

"Hey, I saw Noel Kahn hug you. And he did not wanna let go." Hanna informed Aria,

"Talk about not wanting to let something go."

"Why can't you give him a chance? He's smart, he's cute... ...his Dad owns, like, half of Rhode Island. And he's got great lips." Hanna went on,

"His father?" Spencer asked,

"Noel. Ew. Seriously, Aria. You and Noel would look amazing together." Hanna replied,

"Can we drop it? Please? I'm not looking for anything more than a friend." Aria said,

"Why? I mean, don't you have enough on Facebook? Besides, don't you want someone real? Someone you can, I don't know, scratch and sniff?" Hanna questioned

"Wow, maybe you should just eat that over the garbage." Spencer said,

"Okay, I am trying to help out a friend here. We don't all have smoking-hot boys from the country club."

"What is going on with you and Alex? Is he back from that tournament?" I asked Spencer,

"Yeah. He's back." She answered,

"And?"

"And it's good. It's so good. I want it to last, but I'm afraid I'm gonna blow it." Spencer said,

"So when can we officially call him the boyfriend?" Hanna asked before the door opened and Spencer's mom came in,

"Hi, Mom. "

"Hey, Mrs. Hastings."

"Hi, girls. Oh, what smells so good?" Mrs. Hastings asked,

"Garlic bread. Want some?" Hanna asked,

"I can't. God, I miss food. Eat some butter for me, will you? Why do I have so many messages?" Mrs. Hastings babbled to herself,

"Hey, maybe you should ask Alex to..." Aria began but was cut off from Spencer,

"Stop. Not now."

"Your Mom still doesn't...?" I began,

"Like I said, I want it to last." Spencer said,

"Where's Emily?" Mrs. Hastings asked,

"She's probably on her way over." Spencer answered.

Where was Emily?

...

"You don't have to come inside. If it were canceled, nobody would be here." Spencer told her mother the next morning.

We all stayed the night and Emily never showed up. The next morning Spencer's mom dropped us off because of the storm.

"Oh. Excuse me. Hi. Are they going to give this test today?" Mrs. Hastings asked a woman with a clipboard,

"Decision hasn't been made yet."

We made our way to Spencer's locker and I looked over and saw Alex,

"You didn't say Alex was taking the test here too."

"Why do you think I wanted my Mom to drop us off and leave?" Spencer replied, shutting the locker door.

"Hey, you."

"Hi." Alex greeted and the two of them kissed,

I made disgusted faces to Hanna and Aria, causing them to giggle before the PA turned on,

"Attention all students. The SATs will be held today. Report to the library for sign in."

"Spence. Spence." Aria hissed, dragging Spencer away from Alex,

"Nobody here can make a decision to save their life. It's absurd." Mrs. Hastings said, coming up to us,

"Mom, this is Alex Santiago. Alex, this is my mother. Alex that I went to homecoming with." Spencer introduced him to her mother,

"Oh, of course. L... From the club. Yeah. It just... It took me a moment to put it together. So you're Alex." Mrs. Hastings said with a fake smile,

"Listen, uh, I need to check in. Um... Nice seeing you. Meeting you." Alex said before leaving,

"Test is on today. Rosewood students should register in the library." The woman from before said, coming up to us.

"Half the school isn't even here yet." I said,

"And may never make it. We saw a huge tree on Saw Mill Road and they've closed off York Street." Mrs. Hastings said,

"That wasn't because of a tree. York Street's been closed since last night." Wilden said, coming up to us,

"Why?"

"Somebody decided to pay a visit to Alison DiLaurentis' memorial... ...and destroy it. Shattered the tiles, broke the bench." Wilden said,

"What? When did this happen?" I asked, eyes wide,

"We had to cordon off the area, it's an investigation."

"Spare them the details. They're about to take their SATs." Mrs. Hastings said, cutting off Wilden,

"Right. Good luck on the test, ladies." He said before turning to me, "May I ask you a few questions?"

I nodded and turned to the girls, "You should probably get to the library."

Spencer nodded and the three of them walked away,

"What do you need from me, Detective?"

"Still haven't heard from Toby, huh?" He asked,

"No. Let me know when you do. Toby was spotted at a gas station just off the interstate a few days ago. So clearly he's still with us. But why would he run away if he didn't have anything to hide? Any idea where he might be staying?" Wilden questioned,

"I don't know anything about it." I stated, ready to leave,

"Maybe you should check your basement." He said and I scoffed, leaving to go to the library as an announcement was made.

"The tests will now begin at 10. If this interferes with any plans you've made... ...I suggest you make some calls. If you didn't bring a phone, I am sure this tap-happy gentleman... ...would be glad to lend you his." The women said and I giggled, looking at Lucas.

"God, he's freaking me out." Hanna said, eyeing Detective Wilden who asked to go into the boys locker room,

"Whose locker is he poking into now?" I mumbled,

"He's desperate. Ali's brother's breathing down his neck." Spencer said,

"Ours too. I mean, what if Jason told the police... ...Alison's version of what happened?" Aria asked,

"If Jason was gonna tell them, he would've a year ago. He knows that story's bogus." Sepncer said,

"Why did he bring it up?"

"To try to drive a wedge between us. But he's not gonna do that."

"Sorry about the memorial. I know how hard you girls worked. Shocking though. Something like that could happen and nobody saw anything." Wilden said, coming up to us,

"Everybody here was studying for the exam that we're about to take... ...so you might wanna look for eyewitnesses somewhere else." Spencer snapped

"So you were all studying together?" He asked,

"Yes. We were all at Spencer's." Emily lied,

"All of you?"

"Yes. All of us." Aria repeated

"Okay." Wilden said before leaving and Emily's phone vibrated,

"Emily, what is going on? Where were you last night?" Aria questioned her,

"I told you. I went home." She answered,

"Then why didn't you tell him that?" Spencer asked,

" What happened to all of us sticking together?" Emily replied, standing up,

" Where are you going?" I asked,

"To the restroom. But if you don't believe me, we can all try and squeeze into one stall." Emily said before leaving.

"Should one of us go talk to her?" Hanna asked,

"No. She'll talk when she's ready."


	11. Chapter 11

Soon we were moved into the locker rooms because of a tornado warning. Emily was whisked away by Detective Wilden and we followed.

"What is going on?" Spencer asked as we entered the library,

"Oh, perfect. We can all be together for an update." Wilden smiled,

"We're supposed to be in the locker room." Hanna said,

"I'm guessing you are used to being in places you're not supposed to be." Wilden said, facing Emily, "Tell your friends where you were last night? When you weren't studying for the test? See, because I got these really interesting photos." He took his phone out of his jacket and handed it to Emily, "Pass it around. There's plenty more where that came from. At the precinct." Aria took the phone and we saw Emily at the memorial sight, "And I see you didn't get a chance to clean your shoes either."

"That's not why I went there." Emily said,

"Really? So you didn't go back to finish up Toby's handiwork? Or were you there covering up his tracks?"

"I found it like that. It was already destroyed."

"Really. Well, then let me ask you a question." Wilden pulled out the statues from the memorial, "What were these doing in your bag? Souvenirs? Something Toby asked you to save for his trophy collection?"

"Leave Toby out of this." I spat at Wilden,

"This has nothing to do with him." Emily said,

"Em, why do you have those?" Aria asked,

"No, you put those in there, you creep. Emily would never do that, the memorial was her idea." Hanna said,

"Yeah. So I heard. Nice cover, huh?" Wilden then pulled out an envelope, "You want me to share this with them? Or would you like to? Go ahead and tell them about the angry letter that you wrote to Alison. Which is dated, by the way, three days before she disappeared."

"You had no right to read that." Emily said,

"Emily, what is in that letter?" Spencer asked,

"Tell her. Tell her how you wanted to punish Alison for rejecting you. Tell her you felt relieved at the funeral. Yeah, she wasn't gonna be around to humiliate you anymore, was she?" Wilden accused,

"I went back to that memorial to say I was sorry. There were horrible things in that letter. And I didn't mean them. But then suddenly she was gone and... I loved her as more than a friend. I just never had the chance to tell her in the right way." Emily confessed,

"Give her the letter back. Give it back to her now or I swear to God I will rip your head off!" Hanna exclaimed,

"Sorry. I can't. We're not leaving until you tell me what you were doing carting around pieces of Alison's memorial!" Wilden yelled,

"They were the only things that weren't broken." Emily said,

"What's going on in here? Why aren't they with the other kids?" Mrs. Hastings questioned, coming into the library,

"Who are you?" Wilden asked,

"Her mother." She answered, standing beside Spencer, "If this is the school's idea of keeping my child safe I'm glad I came back. Honey... Why is she crying?"

"He accused her of killing Alison." Spencer answered,

"What?"

"He went through her purse and now he's accusing her." I smirked,

"Oh, hold it. Hold it. You're questioning minors without an adult? What? What police department do you work for? What century are you in?" Mrs. Hastings questioned Wilden,

"I would advise-" Wilden began,

"Oh, no. I would advise you to back off. Anything they've said to you... ...is inadmissible in a courtroom. Period. Let's go. Emily, honey, grab your things. What were you thinking?" Mrs. Hastings asked,

"I have a homicide to solve, okay?"

"Not anymore you don't. You're done. You're done with this investigation. Unless you wanna face me down with opposing counsel." She said before we left the room.


End file.
